del.icio.us tags 12.22.06

• Tagged this article on "Caring for Your Introvert" after being sent over by Nedra at Spare Change. Everything is beginning to make sense. By the way, I'm signing up for Nedra's Next Generation Social Marketing Seminar when she is in DC in March.
• Not everyone loves Product(Red). INSPI(RE)D thinks raising awareness of AIDS in Africa is a fine goal, but they're not big fans of conspicuous consumerism. Paint your old iPod red and make a donation to an AIDS organization of your choice. They're encouraging people to send in photos of products that they have coveREd with information about the donations they have made, but it doesn't look like they're getting many takers. Maybe they're out maxing their credit cards just in time for Christmas?
• John is meant to be heading to Asia early next year to evangelize about 360 DI, but I'm relegated to tagging articles about digital influence on the continent, like this post from The Big Switch about bloggers building communities of cool or this article from Tech2.com India about Mazooki!, a new video sharing site specifically for Asian users. And, according to Paul McGregor, YPulse's resident global youth marketing expert, reports on the South Korean government's decision to clamp down on mobile technology use by young people, allowing parents to set limits on use. Will this new legislation challenge South Korea's position as the global standard bearer for media and communications?
• If you're thinking of doing any blogger outreach, read this first -- and take notes. Don't "pitch" bloggers. They (we) have very strong bullsh*t detectors and they deserve better. And while we're on the topic of ineffective social media marketing, listen to Eric over at Common Sense PR. Stop asking, "How can we get on Digg? How can I get on Oprah? How can I get my company featured in Fast Company?," says Eric. Instead, you need to be asking yourself, "What about my company would my potential customers be interested in, and how can I get that story in front of them in way that has impact?" In other words, if you have a good story, they'll listen. If you have a way to tell it that is remarkable, they'll tell their friends. And, most importantly, if you have a good product (item, service, candidate or cause), they'll buy it.
• Colin Delany over at e.politics lists some Outstanding Advocacy Web Sites. I commented on the post when I first read it, but for some reason it's not on there. I just wanted to tell him about Green My Apple.
  
• 10 Downing Street, Britain's White House, has a new web site for kids -- Number 10 -- that aims to provide young people with an insider's view on the life and work of the Prime Minister.
• TJ Mahoney at Compete has a really smart post about WalMart's tough year in PR. He looks at the launch and growth of two anti-WalMart web sites. But he also looks at the meteoric rise in traffic at WalMart's own site, Walmartfacts.com: "for every one person that reads a jab on wakeupwalmart, about 4.5 others will read a sunshine report on walmartfacts. Obviously, Mahoney is making a strong argument for brands to doing what they can to make sure that their side of the story is out there. It's crisis management 101. Don't leave a vacuum to be filled in by your opposition.
• While SMS still rules in terms of penetration, Enid Burns at ClickZ says, as more and more people are buying mobile devices with the ability to share images and video and carriers recognize how much cash they can rake in from advertisers, mobile marketing campaigns may be on the rise.
• Finally, Travelocity has a new blog. Cardinal Sean has had a blog since September. If you're looking for other Catholic Blogs, here's the site for you. If you're trying to find a new blog to add to your aggregator, check out Feeds that Matter.

Update: Colin at e.politics sent me an email to ask me to resend my comment, so I did. Thanks, Colin.